Browns Sign P Spencer Lanning

Reggie Hodges’ days in Cleveland could be numbered, as the Browns signed punter Spencer Lanning on Wednesday. Hodges is due to become a free agent on March 12, and it’s very likely that he won’t be returning in 2013.

Hodges, despite landing 29 punts inside the 20-yard line (11th in the NFL), ranked 31st in the NFL with a 37.1-yard net average this past season.

Lanning has bounced around between a number of teams (including the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the UFL and the Browns during last season’s training camp), but he finished his career at South Carolina with a 42.6-yard average, placing 46 punts inside the 20. Even better, he served time as a kicker, making 34 of 44 attempts and converting 80 of 84 PATs.

Also, this serves as your sad reminder that kicker Phil Dawson will likely not be returning to the Browns this season.